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Deep inside the pitch-black cave, a strange blue glow shimmered, flooding the whole cavern in an otherworldly ocean of light. At the very heart of it all lay a glowing gem, and resting on that gem was a massive egg. A jagged, lightning-shaped mark stretched across its shell.
Footsteps echoed closer and closer. Out from the darkness, Venom slowly emerged. He scanned the surroundings, his gaze finally locking onto the giant egg. Without hesitation, he strode forward.
When he stood before it, the lightning mark etched on the shell made him frown in confusion. Stretching out his hand, he reached to touch it.
The instant his fingers brushed the surface, a surge of electricity crackled to life, striking his body. Sparks danced over him—but they didn't do any real harm. Venom simply grabbed the egg and lifted it up.
The moment the gem lost its burden, its glow faded, and the entire cave grew dim and lifeless again. Venom didn't pay the darkness any mind. He just stared at the massive egg in his arms.
"What the hell kind of egg is this?" he muttered, puzzled.
He turned it over, studied it, but couldn't figure anything out. Finally, he sighed. Guess I'll dump this problem on the system.
"System, what do you make of this egg?"
"Analyzing…"
"…Analysis complete. Two genetic signatures detected inside the egg: one from wolves, one from dragons."
Venom's eyes lit up.
"The dragon genes dominate. Conclusion: this is a dragon egg."
"To be precise, a Thunder Dragon egg."
"A Thunder Dragon egg?!" Venom's excitement spiked instantly. Everyone knew anything tied to dragons grew into terrifyingly powerful beings.
But then the system kept going:
"Based on the scan, this egg dates back a thousand years. The genes inside have long since ceased activity, which is why it never hatched."
"…So, in plain terms?" Venom asked impatiently.
"In plain terms—it's a dead egg."
"A what?!" His heart dropped like a rock. The high of finding a dragon egg crashed into a bitter low in seconds. You've got to be kidding me. First I get a dragon egg, and now you're telling me it'll never hatch?
"The electrical discharge earlier came from the heavy thunder attribute stored inside the shell. That's all."
"Enough. Shut up." Venom snapped. He didn't want to hear another useless word. He had already pictured hatching a dragon and raising it like some ultimate pet… but apparently life enjoyed throwing cruel jokes.
Now he was stuck with a dead egg. Toss it away? Too wasteful. Keep it? Pretty much useless.
He wrestled with the choice, but nothing came to mind. At last, he stuffed the Thunder Dragon egg into the system's storage. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll pull something out of the system that can bring this thing back to life.
With that settled, Venom glanced around the cave one last time. Nothing else worth taking. He turned and walked out.
Stepping into the daylight, he squinted at the clear sky and immediately checked his life points.
One look nearly made him jump.
"When the hell did I rack up over 1.7 million points?"
He clearly remembered having only seven hundred thousand the last time he checked. Where did that extra million come from?
The system answered: "The additional one million life points came from slaying the Thunder Wolf Dragon. As a super-dangerous species, each one wields world-shattering power and has an exceptionally long lifespan. A million points as a reward is within reason."
Venom mulled it over, then nodded. "Fair enough."
He thought for a moment longer and made a decision. Might as well use that million to fix my biggest weakness.
"System, optimize away this flaw of having to live by attaching myself to a host."
That weakness bothered him far more than his vulnerability to sonic attacks.
"Confirmed. Optimization process beginning."
A wave of refreshing coolness spread from deep within his body, washing through him in steady surges. The sensation was exactly like when he had erased his weakness to fire.
"Ding! Congratulations, host. The symbiosis dependency has been removed."
Venom immediately felt a shift inside himself. To test it, he let his body liquefy into black fluid and slipped free of his host.
Minutes ticked by as he remained on the ground, but his strength didn't fade. No weakness. No collapse. He was surviving completely on his own.
The black liquid gathered back together, rising up to reform Venom's towering figure. But this time, no host body underneath—just him, standing on his own.
He flexed his arms, looked down at his body, and a wild grin spread across his face.
"No more clinging to someone else just to live…"
A booming laugh erupted from his chest.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His voice echoed across the land.
"....."